John 5:39

37 And the Father Himself, who sent Me, ^ahas testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, ^bnor seen His form.

38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.

39 ^aYou search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and ^bthese are they which testify of Me.

40 ^aBut you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

41 ^a“I do not receive honor from men.

42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.

43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.

44 ^aHow can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek ^bthe honor that comes from the only God?

45 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; ^athere is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust.

46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; ^afor he wrote about Me.

47 But if you ^ado not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does John 5:39 Mean?

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The word "search" is ereuano in Greek, and means "to search, examine into." It can imply "to search by uncovering; to search minutely; to explore; to strip, to make bare; to search by feeling, by touch."

Homer, in The Iliad, used this word to indicate a lioness and her dedication to her cubs. They were lost, and she was on a huge plain searching very carefully everywhere. In The Odyssey, he used the same word to picture a dog tracking its prey - having its nose on the ground and never losing the scent.

Metaphorically, it can be used to describe one digging deep for treasure and precious metal, breaking every single clod that nothing would be missed. It means to shake and to sift until every meaning of every sentence, word, syllable, and even every letter may be known and understood.

Jesus is saying that these people search out every tiny, minute thing in striving for eternal life. But they were not willing to come to Him, humble themselves, and change so that they would have real, eternal life!

Can this happen to us today? Sure, it can! We see things that we are loathe to change in our lives, or we procrastinate. This is what Jesus is illustrating. Luke 18:9-14 gives us an example of a man who thought that he was doing wonderfully well. He probably knew more than the tax collector ever would. But the tax collector had the humility to humble himself before God and to repent.

John O. Reid
Don't Take God for Granted

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What Does John 5:39 Mean?

A Verse and a Thought,Every Morning

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